Real Money

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), one of America’s leading community
banks; the City of Los Angeles; and NeighborWorks America, a national
non-profit organization which creates opportunities for people to live
...

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), one of America’s leading community banks; the City of Los Angeles; and NeighborWorks America, a national non-profit organization which creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes and improve their lives, today celebrated the one-year anniversary of the NeighborhoodLIFT SM program by announcing 184 Angelenos have purchased a home through the initiative and $4.3 million of down payment assistance grants are still available for eligible home buyers who apply through Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County.

The NeighborhoodLIFT SM program debuted in Los Angeles a year ago, offering $30,000 down payment assistance grants for qualifying program applicants to use towards the purchase of a home. Qualified applicants also agreed to complete home buyer education training administered by a HUD-approved counselor; have annual income not exceeding 120 percent of the median income for the area; and earn their down payment assistance grants when they buy and reside in an eligible home for five years. Mortgages available through the program are not exclusively offered through Wells Fargo.

“Thanks to Wells Fargo’s generous grant donations and community programs, Angelenos from San Fernando to San Pedro can own their own piece of the City and help to revitalize their neighborhoods,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The Los Angeles effort – which to date has made $5.4 million in down payment assistance grants to local homebuyers – was the first of several LIFT programs Wells Fargo and NeighborWorks America would introduce over the course of 2012 as they joined community leaders across the country to help housing markets recover from the foreclosure crisis.

“Wells Fargo’s funding of the NeighborhoodLIFT SM program and its work in collaboration with NeighborWorks America speaks to the passion our bank has for investing in and being part of programs that help communities succeed,” said John Sotoodeh, Wells Fargo’s Los Angeles region president. “While no single program will ever reverse the effects of the country’s foreclosure crisis, we’re proud to continue doing our part to support the recovery by helping promising homebuyers achieve ownership success in a sustainable and responsible way.”

In addition to the 184 Angelenos who have purchased a home through the program and received part of $5.4 million in down payment assistance grants, another 51 applicants have a contract to purchase a home in Los Angeles with the help of another $1.53 million for down payment assistance.